Heat-resistant garment



July 10, 1962 J. E. FLAGG 3,043,300

HEAT-RESISTANT GARMENT Filed Feb. 27, 195s INVENTOR JOHN E.Fl AGGATTORNEY ite States This invention relates to heat-resistant garments ingeneral and particularly to re-fghters clothing. The principal object ofthe invention resides basically in the provision of a garment havingprovision for the circulation of water or other uid therein, so thatheat is evenly distributed throughout the garment by the uid and is alsodissipated to some degree to maintain the garment and the user as coolas possible, even in the presence of llame and high degrees of heat.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a garment asabove described utilizing 'a new and improved material comprising a pairof closely spaced impervious walls which are both held apart in closelyspaced relation and at the same time are rmly secured together toprevent any variation in the spacing, this material being relativelylight in weight and maintaining the spacing of the walls of the materialeven in the presence of external or internal pressure, so that thecirculation of fluid between the walls in the material cannot beobstructed; the provision of a heat-resistant garment as above statedincluding a water-cooled face-plate; the provision of means providingfor an air supply for the user so that the entire suit may be completelyenclosed; the provision of a reservoir of cooling duid applied to thegarment and carried conveniently as on the back, and includingpressure-responsive means for supplying additional water to the suit, incombination with an automatic relief valve for allowing the escape ofheated water under conditions of internal pressure within the materialof the suit.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of thenew and improved material particularly adapted for heat-resistantgarments, said material comprising a pair of moisture-impervious wallsof rubber, plastic or other suitable material, said walls being heldtogether and spaced apart by a great number of relatively stiff wovenfilaments which extend from side-to-side or from wall-to-wall of thematerials, said laments being interwoven with other filaments forming arelatively thick woven mesh or the like through which water maycirculate easily and quickly between the impervious walls and which atthe same time is so imbedded in said walls as to space the walls apartthroughout the material, and also to tie the walls together so that theycannot bulge under conditions of internal pressure'nor collapse underconditions of external pressure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a garment according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section therethrough; and

FIG. 3 is a section on greatly enlarged scale showing the constructionof the material of which the garment is made.

Referring first to FIG. 3, wherein the material of which the presentgarment is made is clearly shown, the same comprises in the first placea great many small crimped filaments 10, 12, etc. These filaments areformed in a zig-zag manner and are interwoven with other lilaments oflike material i4 and 16. Each filament l@ and 3 2 alternates in'crestsi8 and 2G and in these crests are 't Y 3,@43il Patented July 10, 1962means a ilexible material is formed which, however, is

relatively thick as compared to ordinary woven material, and itmaintains its shape under all ordinary conditions. One example of asatisfactory filament material resides in styrene filaments which may bebent as desired but which retain their bent form. The material as thusfar described is manufactured by the United States Rub-ber Company underthe trademark Trilolc The present invention uses this material andprocesses the same by coating the side surfaces thereof as at 24 and 26with a suitable impervious material such as rubber, plastic or the like,which material does not penetrate the Trilok but provides for completelyimpervious walls at both sides of the Trilok. The Trilok material formsan integral part of the garment fabn'c, the impervious walls of whichserve to seal the iiuid within as clearly indicated at 2S in FIG. 3; andat the same time the Trilok becomes bonded to the walls 24 and 26 andmaintains the spacing thereof throughout the entire fabric.

Having thus provided the material, this invention contemplates for-mingthe same into a garment which may of course be in any desired orconvenient shape or size and may be made to cover any desired part ofthe body. it is conveniently made in over-all form as shown in PIG. l,and it is preferred t-o cover the entire body including the feet. Inthis case, the garment is shown separate from the shoes 30 and theinterior of the material of FIG. 3 does not communicate with theinterior of the material of the shoes, although it is clear that shoes30 could be made a part of the garment as well as the mitt 32.

In the case illustrated, the suit includes the provision of a hood whichis integral therewith and thus as shown the entire garment from theankles to the top of the head is provided withv a clear circulatorysystem for fluids which will not distend or collapse.

In the present case, it is preferred to provide a circulatory systemalso for the observation window generally indicated at 34. As shown inFIG. 2, this is made of a double wall, the same being spaced andconnected with the walls of the garment material as by any suitableadhesive, at the edges thereof, so that the fluid also circulatesthrough the mask or face window.

The garment as described may be conveniently provided with a uidreservoir or suppl-y tank 36, and a pipe is provided leading from thesupply tank as by a connection 38. The pipe is indicated at 40 and itleads in this case to the top of the head of the hood at 42. Thus watermay be supplied to the top of the head where it may descend as will bemore fully described hereinafter throughout the entire suit, carryingoff the heat applied to any part of the body.

A compressed air tank 44 may also `be provided, this having a hose 46leading to the face mask at 48. Mask 48 may be provided with a sealingrim S0 so that the air supply is connected only to the face portion ofthe user and therefore makes the most efficient use of the air supply.An exhaust relief valve for used air is conveniently provided at 52,this valve being of a well known type operating under internal pressureto :allow the used air to escape to a point within the garment butcompartmented from the face mask.

3 Relief valves of conventional manufacture may be conveniently providedadjacent the ankles as at S4 so that when the pressure between the walls`of the material exceeds va certain degree, these valves will `open andallow the hot water to escape from the material. This reduces thepressure within the material and another valve 56 of conventional andwell known design may be utilized to open to a compressed gas container5S which will then exert pressure on a diaphragm 60 impressing pressureon the water in Ithe supply tank 36 so as to force fluid through hosev40 to the point 42, so that fluid escaping through valves 54 is thusreplaced.

The entire suit may be coated with a reective layer to aid in keepingthe user of the garment cool and also the window at 34 may be providedwith a reflective material through which the user can see.

It will be seen that this invention provides a new and `improvedheat-resistant and substantially ilame-proof garment which keeps theuser cool through circulation of water or other uid, and this is madepossible by reason of the fact that the material of which the garment ismade provides for a free lluid circulation since it is clear that waterwill not circulate if material is used that could block the circulation.

It is also clear that the sui-t would not be operable if the materialwere such as could be distended so as to form bulges, particularlyinasmuch as the invention is based largely upon a continuous watercirculation covering substantially the entire body. The presentinvention provides against the collection of the cooling fluid atlocalized areas and ensures that the uid will be distributed evenlythroughout the entire garment even including that part at the' top ofthe head.

The above description clearly shows that the garment is not onlyheat-resistant but is also practically flameproof, due to the duidcirculation and hence the objects of the invention are seen to have beencarried out in a practical, ecient manner.

Having thus described my invention and the advanr tages thereof, I donot wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise thanas set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A heat-resisting substantially flame-proof garment ofy body coveringmaterial comprising a pair of spaced moisture-impervious Walls, multipleclosely spaced substantially rigid means extending throughout thematerial providing for free liquid circulationV within the material,liquid in the material between the walls, and a relief valve to allowheated liquid to escape from between the walls at -a ypredeterminedinternal pressure.

2. A double-walled garment for protection of the wearer yagainsttemperature extremes, including a doublewalled face mask, the walls ofboth garment and face mask being spaced and adapted to contain `acoolant liquid, the spaces being in communication for circulation of theliquid throughout, and a liquid inlet and outlet for the spaces betweenthe walls.

3. The garment of claim 2 including an air supply for the face portion`only of the garment in the region of the mask.

4. The garment of claim 2 including an air supply for the face portionof the garment in the region of the mask,

and a continuous seal therefor providing for entrance of the air fromthe air supply to the interior of the garment at the face portion only.

5. A garment for protection of the wearer against extremes oftemperatures comprising a body enclosing member or" double-walledimpervious material, a liquid evenly distributed throughout the member,a liquid supply inlet at one portion of the garment and an outlet at apoint remote from the inlet, said inlet and outlet providing for acirculation of the liquid and a liquid supply for the inlet, said supplybeing mounted on the garment.

6. The garment of claim. 5 wherein said outlet comprises apressure-responsive relief valve to release liquid from the member at apredetermined pressure.

7. The garment of claim 5 wherein said outlet comprises apressure-responsive relief valve to release liquid from the member at apredetermined pressure and the liquid supply includes a -secondpressure-responsive valve and a device controlled thereby to forceadditional liquid into the member upon release of iluid by said firstrelief valve.

8. A protective garment comprising a body enclosing member including ahood of double-walled impervious llexible material, means to space theWalls throughout the garment, fluid in the space -between the walls, ailuid inlet at the top of the hood, a iluid outlet adjacent a low pointof the garment, and a fluid supply for said inlet.

9. A double-walled material, both walls of which are impervious, andmeans spacing the walls evenly and securing the walls together, said4means including a plurality of filaments of substantial rigidityextending back and forth across the yspace between Ithe walls and beingpartially embedded therein, and additional laments interwoven with thecrimped filaments at the apices of the crimps, said additional filamentsalso being partially embedded in the walls and extending generallyparallel thereto and underlying the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,005,569 De Meir Oct. 10, 1911 1,760,512 McBride et al. May 27, 19302,072,152 Blake et al` Mar. 2, 1937 2,228,115 Holste Jan. 7, 19412,255,751 Bancel ..V Sept. 16, 1941 2,335,474 Beall NOV. 30, 19432,404,020 Akerman July 16, 1946 2,539,284 Thomas Ian. 23, 1951 2,607,104Foster Aug. 19, 1952 2,657,396 Klein et al. Nov. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS547,223 Great Britain Aug. 19, 1942 528,407` Great Britain Oct. 29, 1940421,212 France Dec. 15, 1910

